Pro-abortion groups freak out over license plates

One might think that a license plate that emphasized choice would please the people who style themselves as “pro-choice”.  Not in Virginia, though, as Democratic Governer and DNC chair Tim Kaine has discovered.  Kaine approved a new option for license plates that displays the phrase, “Choose Life”, and pro-abortion groups have hit the roof:

Tim Kaine, the Virginia governor and President Barack Obama’s hand-picked choice as the head of the Democratic National Committee, infuriated abortion-rights groups Monday by signing legislation that gives abortion foes a long-sought victory.

Kaine brushed off intense lobbying by abortion rights supporters in Richmond to sign a bill that allows Virginia motorists to advertise their anti-abortion views by sporting “Choose Life” specialty license plates. …

“It is surprising that Governor Kaine would do this, but it’s all the more surprising that he would do it as chair of the DNC,” said Paulette McElwain, the president of the Virginia League for Planned Parenthood.

McElwain exchanged numerous calls with the governor’s office over the license plates and organized a grass roots effort that logged more than 2,000 calls to the governor’s staff.

“We provided him with abundant information,” she said. “We’re terribly disappointed that he decided to sign it.”

In Washington, NARAL/Pro-Choice America channeled more than 17,000 emails and 200 calls to the DNC urging Kaine to veto the bill.

“It is unfortunate that, even after receiving thousands of messages from Virginians and pro-choice activists across the country, Gov. Kaine has opted to sign a bill that advances a divisive political ideology at the expense of women’s health,” NARAL/Pro-Choice America president Nancy Keenan said in a statement.

The license plate doesn’t say, “Stop abortion” or “Make women sick”.  It says “Choose Life”, and shows a simple drawing of the faces of two children.  How is that a “divisive political ideology”? Successful gestation is an ideology?

More to the point, why is the phrase “Choose Life” such a threat to NARAL and Planned Parenthood?  At least for the latter, convincing fewer women to have abortions cuts into their revenue stream.  They’re going to lose money if women “choose life” and they’ll get to kill fewer fetuses.

And isn’t more than a little ironic that NARAL/Pro-Choice America has such a heated reaction to the phrase “choose life“?

Many states now have specialty license plate programs that allow various groups to promote their mission.  Kaine noted when he signed off on the Choose Life plate that Planned Parenthood could come up with its own, but that he had little choice but to approve the request on his desk. All they need is 350 people to prepay a $25 fee for a plate that says, “Kill your fetus,” and they’re good to go.

Kaine himself is a moderately pro-life politician, alhough he promised not to actually act on it as Governor.  The pro-abortion lobby feels betrayed by a license plate.  Nothing proves their radical absolutism in pursuit of abortion better than this kerfuffle.

• Bobby Jindal: Paternalistic, big-government liberalism is the biggest loser here
• Chris Christie: “I’ll be here to welcome” Obama when he comes to tour the NJ coast again next week
• MSNBC consensus: Obama’s speech was historic, amazing, “one of the best of his presidency”

Blowback